Assessment of out-of-plane behavior of rammed earth walls by pull-down tests

This article reports pull-down tests performed on rammed earth construction in Bhutan. The pull–down specimens involved an old rammed earth building component as well as a newly prepared rammed earth wall. Both the wall specimens were tested in out-of-plane direction. Theoretical rigid body formulation and finite element (FE) models were developed to predict the response of the rammed earth structures under out-of-plane loading. The validated FE model was further extended to parametric study of material and physical characteristics of rammed earth construction and their effect on critical response quantities. The change in elastic modulus showed effect in the pre-cracking phase of the wall. Density of rammed earth on the other hand affected the post-peak response of the rammed earth wall. Furthermore, an increase in the physical characteristics, namely, the thickness of wall and the vertical superimposed load on top of the wall, enhanced the rocking resistance capacity of the out-of-plane loaded rammed earth walls.     

The gender dimension of business elites: Italian women directors since 1934

Abstract

Gender is an important, albeit understudied, dimension in the analysis of business elites. In this paper we analyze the importance of women in the board of directors of listed Italian companies since 1934. We show that women are less represented in boards in Italy than in other comparable OECD countries, but also that listed companies are less open to women than other centres of powers, such as the public administration and liberal professions. In addition, in a country where board interlocking is a key device to ensure separation between ownership and control, very few women hold multiple directorships. We then present the results of a prosopographical study on women directors in seven benchmark years: 1962, 1970, 1978, 1986, 1994, 2002, and 2007. We conclude with a discussion of various policy options to enhance gender diversification on the boards of Italian listed companies.     

The Case of the Case History: Detecting the Medical Report in Sherlock Holmes

Critics have examined both the influence of the medical case model and the newer laboratory sciences on Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes tales, but they have often overlooked key aspects of the stories' turn-of-the-century historical context. I argue that in response to the indefinite rewards offered by the up-and-coming laboratory sciences and the grandiose claims of many of those practicing these sciences, Conan Doyle chose to circle back to an earlier clinical method and to echo a type of case narrative that provides both closure and disclosure via post-mortem exam. Thus, Conan Doyle's stories, with their breakdown into Watsonian history and Holmesian summation, register the value of clinical procedures by using the established medical case study that ends in autopsy as a template. In his fictional echoing of the case culminating in post-mortem exam, Conan Doyle's Holmes stories draw attention to the accuracy of knowledge that only such cases can provide, and in doing so, Conan Doyle highlights the uncertainty inherent in both many Victorian medical practices and the unproven laboratory sciences of the day – an uncertainty, the tales suggest, that could only be remedied by accruing information through this particularly revealing type of case documentation. In the process, the Holmes tales reflect on the case's unique ability to narrate a type of resolution which cannot be otherwise represented. In its emphasis on making comprehensible that which defies mastery through other means lies the case's essential fit with literary narrative more generally – and narratives of detection like the Holmes stories, in particular.     

严修《东游日记》中的黔籍留日学生

清未,在贵州学政严修竭力推崇东西洋文明的启蒙下,开启黔人跨出国门,学习法政、科技、教育,探寻国家复兴之路。1902年至1904年,严修两次东游日本,与黔籍留日学生频繁往还交流,又增添了一层深厚的师友之情。黔籍留日学生回国,又多得严修人脉的多方推荐和关照,为贵州乃至全国培养造就了一批民国初年崭露头角、驰骋政坛及文化教育界之俊杰。     

冤案背后:嘉靖年间北京一桩杀母案的审理

嘉靖八年(1529),北京城中一位妇女被杀。东厂、锦衣卫采纳死者之子张福的说法,判定其邻居张柱为凶手。但张福之姐及邻居都证明,张福自杀其母而诬陷张柱,法司据此改罪张福。不料改判引起明世宗的极大愤怒,他强力地加以干预,最后不但张柱被诛杀,出面作证的张福之姐及邻居,甚至包括都御史熊浃在内的主张改判的官员们也都受到严厉惩罚。综合各种资料判断,这是明世宗出于对明孝宗、明武宗外家的怨恨心理而制造的一起大冤案。在北京社会中,外戚是影响最大的地方势力之一,但具体到个案性的外戚家族,则常随帝位更替而出现兴衰变化。明世宗对张福案的强力干预,只有放在这一背景上,才能看得更加清楚。     

两汉墓葬中出土陶灶的考古类型学研究

本文将两汉时期墓葬中出土的陶灶分为方形、长方形、梯形、前方后圆形、曲尺形、圆形、半椭圆形等七种不同形制的灶,对每种形制的灶又进行了型式划分,并考察了每种形制灶的分布范围及流行年代。     

Getting the Most out of Progress Files and Personal Development Planning

Global supply chains play an increasingly important role in the economy and should therefore be addressed within geography coursework, especially given concerns that geographers have not fully explored various angles of globalization. This article explores the use of an online case study on supply chains and their vulnerability to natural disasters in two entry-level, undergraduate courses. Results from a post-study survey suggest that students increasingly prefer online sources of information and that online case studies can foster a greater understanding of global economic processes such as supply chains and how these can be influenced by natural phenomena at different scales.     

How and why we should encourage undergraduate geography students to participate in the Erasmus programme

Studying or working abroad during the course of an undergraduate degree has been associated with many positive outcomes and benefits. Despite this, there is scant literature on the role higher education institution (HEIs) play in encouraging outgoing student mobility. There is subsequently limited practical guidance for individuals within HEIs wishing to increase student participation in mobility programmes. Using evidence from the existing literature, and primary research conducted for a PhD study, this paper addresses this gap and offers guidance for encouraging students' participation in the European region action scheme for the mobility of university students (Erasmus). This paper focuses on the mobility of geography students who underperform in terms of participation in the Erasmus programme.     

身份认同转变的影响因素探析——基于16位在韩朝鲜族移民的结构式访谈

论文基于多元身份认同的理论基础,通过16位在韩国工作生活的中国朝鲜族移民的结构式访谈,对影响其身份认同转变的相关因素进行了探析。研究显示,导致中国朝鲜族认同转变的主要因素包括：移居韩国前的高期望值导致的失落感,大量集中于体力劳动行业被边缘化,语言和文化障碍,韩国社会的歧视以及由此导致的自尊心伤害。韩国政府近期移民政策逐渐由优待中国朝鲜族转向对所有外国人群体的普适性对待,在此过程中,如果缺乏对中国朝鲜族这一特殊群体的考虑,将有可能影响韩国整个社会的稳定。